/-)  .  ^°"f  Pam  #639 

^^f  I>T^103tD7Z 


KEMAKKS 


ON'   A. 


VOLUNTEER  NAVY. 


iB^-  u^  a-Eiop^a-i.A.isr. 


ATLANTA,  GEORGIA: 

MJTELLIGENCER   STEAM  POWBR    PRESSES. 
1864. 


( /  / 


^  IIMI/iKK 


George  Washington  Flowers 
Memorial  Collection 

DUKE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 


ESTABLISHED  BY  THE 
FAMILY  OF 

COLONEL  FLOWERS 


REMARKS  ON  A  VOLUNTEER  NAVY. 


The  object  of  this  painplilet  is  to  encourage  the  organiza- 
'tion  of  a  Navy  for  tlie  Confederate  State?.  I  address  myself 
to  the  men  of  intelligence,  common  sense  and  enterprise  of 
the  conntry,  and,  therefore,  I  sliall  not  attempt  to  review  the 
whole  vast  field  whicli  this  magnificent  snbject  presents,  bnt 
shall  content  myself  with  snggestions,  trusting  to  the  pp,- 
triotism  of  the  reader  to  digest  and  elaborate  the  views 
lierein  presented.  I  also  trust  that  each  man  who  honors 
these  pages  with  a  perusal,  will  do  so  with  the  questions 
constantly  before  his  mind  :  "  Is  there  any  thing  I  can  indi- 
vidually do  to  accomplish  the  object  proposed  i  Shall  not 
I,  tnysclf,  without  dehi}',  work,  and  undertake,  and  risk ; 
shall  I  not  sacrifice,  if  need  be,  to  obtain  for  my  country  a 

That  the  country  needs  a  Navy,  needs  only  to  be  stated 
to  be  acknowledged  as  true.  For  every  man  who  has  read 
liistory  at  all,  knows  that  such  are  the  liabits  of  thought, 
prevalent  amongst  mankind,  that  the  possession  of  an  effici- 
ent naval  force  is  recognized  by  the  people  of  the  world, 
and  especially  by  Europeans,  as  evidence  of  national  estab- 
lishment. Keflecting  men,  also,  perceive  that  it  is  the  most 
powerful  and  efficient  arm  of  strength  we  can  put  in  force 
against  our  obdurate  enemy. 

Reader,  my  proposition,  plainly  stated,  is  this.  Withont 
either  reflections  or  fault-findings,  you  should  enconrage  the 
Government  to  use  every  efibrt  in  its  power  to  make  pro- 
gress in  the  work  commenced  by  the  authorities,  and  you, 
each  one  of  you,  should  enter  upon  the  work  and  do  all  yon 
can  to  render  needful  assistance.  It  may  be  easier  for  jon, 
each,  to  say,  any  thing  I  could  do  would  be  but  little  and 
imavailing — this  is  the  work  of  Grovernments — the  Govern- 
ment has  failed  in  duty  in  not  organizing  a  great  Navy. — 
Ijut  tliis  passive  activity,  in  censoriousness,  does  not  lead  to 
success.  It  is  not  what  your  cause  needs.  You  must  popu- 
larize this  subject.  The  millions  now  being  accumulated  in 
private  hands,  add  in  too  many  cases  hoarded,  must  be  en- 
ergized lor  the  country.  The  Cotton  lying  all  over  the  Con- 
federacy, -awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  enemy  to  seize  upon 


4  REMARKS    OX    A  VOLUNTEER   NAVY. 

and  confiscate  it,  mnst  be  applied  to  the  work.  It  you 
would  win  success  you  must  organize  your  capital,  and  do 
80  without  delay. 

Tliere  is  a  species  of  pride  in  Southern  society,  which  the 
sooner  you  discard  the  better  lor  us  all.  Do  not  any  lon*^er 
despise  the  day  of  small  thinf>;s.  Do  not  hesitate  to  enter 
upon  this  work,  because  in  a  day  you  cannot  have  a  Htxy 
as  great  as  that  of  England.  Ilemember  that  when  each 
does  a  little  and  many  act,  when  all  that  is  done  is  aggrega- 
ted, the  result  is  that  much  is  accomplished.  The  law  of 
success,  in  nil  enterprises,  is,  iLat  you  must  commence,  make 
progress,  and  succeed.  If  you  commence  in  this  matter, 
whether  it  be  with  a  merchant  vessel,  a  privateer,  or  an  iron 
clad  man-of-war,  the  condition  of  your  country  is  improved. 
If  you  progress  by  putting  adoat  another  vessel  of  any  kind, 
you  approach  nearer  the  accomplishment  of  your  laudable 
object,  each  step  of  progress  facilitating  every  succeeding 
step.  You  should  also  bear  in  mind  that  by  any  eiibrt  you 
may  make  in  this  matter,  our  condition  as  a  nation  cannot, 
in  any  event,  be  rendered  worse.  Do  you  hesitate  to  put 
your  Cotton  afloat,  because  you  apprehend  the  enemy  will 
capture  it  ?  They  are  capturing  it  on  land,  wherever  and 
whenever  they  can.  Do  you  hesitate  to  embark  your  money 
or  securities  ?  You  already  have  a  redundancy  of  these  in 
the  country  ;  more  thau  you  have  things  to  buy  with  them  ; 
insomuch  that  internal  commerce,  like  a  canibal,  has  com- 
menced to  prey  upon  herself,  and  the  engrosser  is  the  suc- 
cessful speculator.  If  such  vessels  as  you  may  put  afloat 
are  liable  to  be  captured  by  the  enemy,  so  also  are  your 
funds  and  securities  at  home  liable  to  capture  or  to  coniisca- 
tion.  Indeed,  all  you  have  hangs  upon  the  issue  of  this 
revolution.  It  is  bold  to  act.  It  is  folly  to  fold  your  arms. 
Therefore  act  prudently,  but  adventurously  and  courageous- 
ly in  the  premis«s. 

Tlie  enterprises  contempiatd,  and  to  which  you  are  invi- 
ted, are  not  contraband.  They  are  legitimate.  The  merest 
tyro  in  the  law  of  nations,  knows  that  all  such  merchant- 
men as  you  may  equip  may  legitimately  sail  on  the  high 
seas,  subject  only  to  the  chances  of  seizure  and  condemna- 
tion as  prizes  by  the  enemy.  But  can  you  legitimately 
equip  privateers  ?  I  answer,  yes ;  and  that,  in  the  event  the 
men  who  sail  on  them  are  so  unfortunate  as  to  be  taken  pri- 
soners, they  will  be  held  as  prisoners  of  war.  The  Confed- 
erate Government,  by  authority  of  which  every  right  you 
possess  is  protected,  lias  so  declared  it.  The  Act  of  Con- 
gress, approved  April  18,  1863,  provides  that  the  President 


EKMARKS    OK   A  VOLUNTEER   NAVT.  5 

shall  receive  into  the  service  of  the  Government  private 
armed  vessels,  to  be  organized  into  a  volunteer  Navy,  and 
to  appoint  and  commission  officers  for  the  same,  with  the 
single  limit.'ition  upon  the  parties  furnishing  them,  that  the 
ship  they  otfer  shall  not  ho  less  than  one  hundred  tons  bur- 
then.    The  act  gives  to  the  owners  the  right  of  presenting 
the  ship  manned  and  officered,  reserving  to  the  Presiden't 
the  right  to  examine  into  their  iitness,  antl  corrtirm  or  reject 
the  choice  thev  may  make.     Tlie  vessels  thus  manned  and 
officered,  in  accordance  with  the  details  in  the  law  provided, 
are  authorized  to  seize,  capture  or  destroy,  upon  the  sea  and 
within  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  tide,  all  vessels  and  property 
of  the  United  IStates,  and  of  the  citizens  thereof;  and  in 
addition  to  the  regular  pay  provided  for  the  sea  service, 
nmety  per  cent,  oi  the  value  of  all  such  captures,  less  the 
cost  of  adjudication,  accrues  to  the  owners,  officers,  and 
crews  of  the  vessels  making  such  captures,  and  is  to  be  dis- 
tributed amongst  them  either  as  they  mav  agree,  or  else 
upon  terms  Hxed   in  the   act.     The  law  furtfier  provides 
compensation  for  all    Government   vessels   of  the   United 
States  which  may  be  seized,  captured  or  destroyed  ;  and  sets 
apart  the  ten  per  cent,  not  distributed  as  a  fund  to  support 
such  as  may  be  wounded  or  disabled  in  service,  and  the 
widows  and  orphans  of  those  who  may  be  slain.     This  law 
of  itself  contains  sufficient  authority  for  every  true  hearted 
Confederate.     But  it  is  not  alone  to  this  or  to  any  other  acts 
of  our  OM-n  Government  that  you  may  look  for  vindication. 
In  case  of  capture,  the  men  who  saif  on  privateers  can  be 
dei>riycd  of  the  rights,  privileges  and  immunities  of  prison- 
ers of  war,  alone  on  the  ground  of  being  considered  pirates, 
because  engaged  in  making  captures  on'the  high  seas.     But 
captures  of  the  enemy's  property  on  the  high  seas  are  con- 
sidered, in  international  law,  not  only  as  legitimate,  but  as 
laudable.     I  present  you  a  brief  exposition,  sustained  bv 
United  States  and  by  English  authorities.     Chancellor  Keik 
says :  '•  There  is  a  marked  difference  in  the  rights  of  war, 
carried   on  by  land   and  by  sea.     The  object  of  maratime 
warfare,  is  the  destruction  of  the  enemy's  commerce  and 
navigation,  in  order  to  weaken  and  destroy  the  foundation 
of  his  naval  power."     He  informs  us  that  the  Legislature  of 
New  "iork,  in  1S12,  passed  an  act  to  promote  privateering 
associations,  "for  the  purpose  of  annoying  the  enemy  and 
injurini,'  their  commerce."     This  is  the  accepted  doctrine  on 
the  subject.     Efiwts  have  been  made  of  late  years  to  change 
the  law,  but  without  practical  fruits.     The  intelligent  mind 
readily  perceives,  that  whilst  the  Paris  declarations  of  1856 


6  RBMARKU    ON    A^  VOLUNTEER   l^AVY. 

abolished  privateering,  as  between  tlie  nations  wlio  were 
parties  thereto,*  they  yet  recognized  this  doctrine.  Since 
then  the  British  Parliament  have  had  much  discussion  on 
the  subject.  In  1S60,  tha  Shipping  Committee  reported 
that,  intheir  opinion,  the  time  had  arrived  when  "  ail  pri- 
vate property,  not  contraband  of  war,  should  be  exem]^t 
from  capture"  at  sea."  On  the  18ih  of  February,  1801,  an 
inquiry  having  been  addressed  to  the  Government  to  a^,er- 
tain  whether  any  steps  had  been  taken  to  carry  out  tlie 
recommendation  of  the  committee,  Lord  John  Russell,  in 
response,  said  he  "  per(;eivcd  difficulties  in  tlie  details  in- 
volved in  the  proposition  which  would  be  insurmountable," 
thus  characterizing  the  idea  as  impracticable.  On  the  11th 
of  March,  1802,  Mr.  Ilorsfall,  member  for  Liverpool,  moved 
in  the  House  of  Commons  to  abolish  mercantile  captures  at 
sea.  In  his  speech,  referring  to  the  Paris  declaration,  he 
said :  "  We  must  either  go  back,  or  we  must  go  forvrard. — 
As  to  privateering,  great  injustice  had  been  done  Americans. 
They  would  not  give  it  up  unless ,  the  great  powers  of  Eu- 
rope would  consent  to  take  the  still  wider  ground  that  all 
private  property  bhould  be  free."  Many  members  of  Parli- 
ament, including  the  greatest  minds  in  England,  expressed 
themselves  against  the  proposition.  Lord  Palmerston  said, 
amongst  other  things,  that  "  his  opinion  distinctly  was,  if 
you  give  up  that  power  which  you  possess,  and  which  all 
maratime  States  possess  and  have  exercised — of  taking  the 
ships,  the  property  and  the  crews  of  the  nation  with  whom 
you  may  happen  to  be  at  war — you  would  be  crippling  the 
right  arm  of  our  strength  !  You  would  be  inflicting  a  blow 
upon  our  naval  power,  and  you  would  be  guilty  of  political 
suicide."  Mr,  Moncrief,  Lord  Advocate  of  Scotland,  said: 
"The  principles  advanced  by  the  supporters  of  the  resolu- 
tion, would  necessarily  lead  to  the  abolition  of  blockades. — 
The  rules  of  war  entitle  us  to  destroy  our  enemy's  commerce. 
If  we  give  up  that  right,  could  we  then  maintain  the  right 
of  blockade,  which  is  an  inlinitely  stronger  interference  with 
private  property  than  the  right  of  capture  at  seaf"  In  sub- 
mitting a  very  able  argument  on  the  question,  Sir  Poundell 
Palmer,  the  Queen's  Solicitor  General,  said  :  "  He  dreaded 
to  think  whut  might  be  the  efleet  of  admitting  a  principle 
of  a  political  war  and  a  commercial  peace.  The  mercantile 
class  should  not  be  deprived  of  their  general  interest  in  the 
maintenance  of  peace  !  What,"  he  asked,  "is  the  greatest 
check  we  have  aijainst  r^iusi  and  unnecessary  wars  'i    Is  it 


♦  The  United  StaUs,  as  also  the  Confederate  States,  have  ileclined  to  acquiesce  \a  the  decla- 
ration sboUahir.g  privateering. 


EKMAEKS    OH    A  VOLDNrEEK   XAVY,  .  7 

not  tlie  burdens  they  impose  i  If  a  system  were  introduced 
which  would  admit  of  carrying  on  war  without  those  bur- 
dens, can  it  be  supposed  that  the  interest  of  merchants  would 
be  the  same  as  now,  in  preventing  war  or  in  bringing  about 
the  restoration  of  peace?"  What  more  appropriate  ques- 
tions for  you  than  these  ?  The  merchants  of  the  enemy  are 
growing  rich  on  this  war — they  revel  in  the  immunity  of 
their  trade  ;  and  gathering  riches  from  the  four  quarters  of 
the  globe  without  molestation,  they  rather  pray  that  the  war 
shall  continue,  and  contend  in  the  counsels  of  our  enemies, 
not  for  the  restoration  of  peace,  but  for  the  restoration  of 
strife  !  Will  you  not  wake  up  to  this  great  fact  and  put  in 
force,  against  the  merchant  princes  of  the  North,  this  whole- 
gome  principle  of  cap^ires  by  sea  ^  Behold,  my  country- 
men, the  path  to  peace.  Walk  ye  in  it  I  After  much  debate 
Mr.  Horsfairs  resolution  was  withdrawn,  thus  leaving  tho 
groat  principle  reaffirmed  and  settled  by  the  leading  minds 
of  England  as  late  as  1862,  since  this  war  commenced,  that 
maratime  captures  are  not  only  legitimate,  but  commenda- 
ble and  most  efficient  for  the  production  of  peace  between 
belligerents. 

You,  therefore,  are  at  liberty  to  consider  the  principle 
established.  AVhat  difference  then  does  it  make  whether  the 
captures  are  made  by  national  vessels  <^f  war  or  by  private 
armed  vessels  sailing  in  commission  ?  None.  Actually  and 
practically,  none  whatever.  In  an  article  on  this  subject, 
dated  July  4th,  1812,  Mr.  Jefferson  asks  :  "  What  difference 
to  the  sufferer  is  it  that  his  property  is  taken  by  a  national 
or  private  armed  vessel  ?  Did  our  merchants  who  have  lost 
nine  hundred  and  seventeen  vessels  by  British  captures,  feel 
any  gratification  that  the  most  of  them  were  taken  by  his 
Majesty's  men-of-war?  Were  the  spoils  less  rigidly  exacted 
by  a  seventy-four  gun  ship,  than  b}'  a  privateer  of  four 
guns ;  and  were  not  all  equally  condemned  V  He  then 
proceeds  to  appdft  to  the  people  to  organize  privateers. — 
"  Our  national  ships,"  says  he,  "  are  too  few  in  number  to 
give  employment  to  one-twentieth  })art  of  them,  (the  sea- 
men,) or  retaliate  tlie  acts  of  the  enemy,  but  by  licensing 
private  armed  vessels  the  whole  naval  force  of  the  nation  is 
truly  brought  to  bear  on  the  foe,  and  while  the  contest  lasts, 
that  it  may  have  the  speedier  terminatiou,  let  every  individ- 
ual contribute  his  mite,  in  the  best  way  he  can,  to  distress 
and  harrass  the  enemy,  and  compel  him  to  peace.  In  June, 
1812,  the  Committee  on  Foreign  llelations,  John  C.  Calhoun^ 
chairman,  reported  a  bill  declaring  war  against  England, 
.authorizing  the  President  to  use  the  whole  land  and  naval 


8  REMARKS   ON    A  VOLUNTEER   NAVY. 

ipTCc  of  the  TTnited  States  to  carry  the  eame  into  effect,  and^ 
to  iesne  to  private  armed  vessels  of  the  United  States  com-  ' 
misBions  or  letUrs  of  marque  and  general  reprisals,  against  the 
vessels,  goods  and  effects  of  England  and  her  subjects.  Jas. 
Madison,  President,  approved  this  law  on  the  18th  June, 
1812,  and  issued  his  Proclamation,  countersigned  by  James 
Monroe,  Secretary  of  State,  in  accordance  tliercvrith.  On. 
the  (3th  of  July  thereafter,  John  Ad«,ms,  writing  to  a  friend, 
after  he  had  seen  the  Act  and  Proclamation,  approved  the 
same  in  terms  of  roundest  and  most  emphatic  commenda- 
tion, without  one  word  against  privateering. 

The  situation  of  our  country  now,  is  in  exact  parallel  with 
that  of  tlie  United  States  at  the  time  above  referred  to, 
(1812.)  I  am  authorized,  by  facts  known  to  me,  to  state- 
that  we  have  the  seamen  as  good  as  ever  went  down  to  the- 
great  sea.  We  also  have  within  our  limits  the  idle  capital,, 
the  proper  use  of  which  will  result  in  our  obtaining  the 
ships.  Will  you  not  then  be  as  wise,  in  this  your  day  and' 
generation,  as  your  fathers  were  in  1812?  jBehold  what 
they  accomplished !  History*  informs  us  that  the  British 
entered  that  contest  Avith  a  Navy  of  one  thousand  and  sixty 
men-of-war ;  eight  hundred  of  which  were  in  commission,. 
and  were  effective  cruising  ships  or  vessels.  The  United 
States  had  but  seven  effective  frigates,  with  some  twelve  or 
fifteen  sloops-of-war.  The  war  lasted  two  and  one-half  years,. 
and  tlie  result  was,  that  Great  Britain  lost  about  two  tliou- 
sand  ships  and  vessels  of  every  description,  including  men- 
of-war  and  merchantmen.  Eighteen  hundred  sail  are  re- 
corded as  having  been  taken,  burnt,  sunk,  or  destroyed.  At 
least  two  hundred  more,  not  including  captures  made  on  the 
great  lakes,  were  destroyed  and  not  reported.  Against  this 
immense  destruction  of  the  British  Navy,  the  American 
loss,  after  the  war  commenced,  was  about  jfive  hundred  sail. 
Witliin  the  short  space  of  two  and  a  half  years,  with  a  be- 
ginning of  only  seven  frigates  and  fifteen  sloops,  the  people 
put  afloat  two  liundred  and  fifty-two  privateers,  sailing  un- 
der Government  commission  and  letters  of  'marque. 

What  encouragement  there  is  in  this  record  for  you  ? — 
Have  you  not  a  nucleus  to  organize  upon  ?  Are  not  Semmes 
and  Maffit  afloat  ?  Have  you  not  more  than  seven  armed 
ghips  at  work  ?  Are  you  not  rich  in  the  means,  if  you  would 
only  use  them  (  Are  not  the  very  vessels  with  which  some 
of  you  run  the  blockade,  the  best  ships  that  could  be  put 
afloat  for  these  purposes  ?  Do  they  not  stand  ready  prepar- 
ed to  take  the  place  of  the  famous  Baltimore  clippers  of 

*  Cooper's  Naval  History.    CoggeslMU's  History  of  Privatters. 


REMARKS    ON    A  VOLUNTEER    NAA'Y,  9 

1812  ?  Can  they  not  outrun  and  escape  from  the  vessel  tbey 
cannot  whip  ;  and  is  not  that  the  style  of  vessel  you  want 
for  a  siiceessful  privateer?  Have  not  inan>  captures  already 
been  made?  Arc  you  net  informed  by  last  advices  from 
Serames,  that  his  vessel  alone  has  already  made  not  less  than 
iifty-thrco  captures  ?  Have  not  your  privateers  already, 
virtually,  invaded  Boston,  and  New  York,  and  Philadel- 
phia ?  Have  they  not  caused  insurance  to  be  doubled,  and 
even  rendered  it  difficult  to  obtain  in  many  instances  ?  AVill 
you  not  assist  your  bold  seamen  afloat,  and  reinforce  them 
until  the  money  lords  of  the  North,  instead  of  gloating  oVer 
your  ruin,  in  the  gratiiication  of  voracious  avarice,  shall 
tremble  in  the  knees  like  Belshazzar? 

For  the  i">urpose  of  obtaining  vessels  any  and  all  means, 
giving  promise  of  success,  should  be  rcsortod  to.  We  must 
build,  or  buy,  or  capture  ships,  both  large  and  small — as 
well  merchantmen  as  vessels  of  Avar — for  we  need  vessels  of 
all  kinds,  and  of  all  sizes  and  descriptions ;  and  if  we  can- 
not get  large  vessels  we  should  get  email  ones,  and  make  the 
best  use  we  can  of  them.  The  Government  should  work 
openly  and  secretly.  Every  citizen  who  can  bring  aught  of 
means,  or  aught  oi  skill  and  labor,  or  of  perseverance  to  the 
work,  should  be  up  and  active.  No  man  should  leave  any 
effort  or  sacriticc  untried  until,  by  a  strong,  persistent,  pa- 
tient, energetic  effort,  this  great  national  good  becomes  an 
accomplished  fact. 

Some  men  of  first  class  capacity,  hold  that  it  is  practica- 
ble for  us  to  build  ships  and  send  them  to  sea  from  our  own 
ports.  Without  dissenting  from  this  proposition,  I  do  not 
propose  to  elal'Orate  it,  but  ]")refcr  to  present  some  reflections 
upon  the  question  of  obtaining  tliem  by  purchase  for  mer- 
chant service,  as  also  of  equipping  them  after  being  thus 
obtained  for  ^varlikc  purposes. 

You  can  buy  the  ships  if  _you  will  take  the  trouble  to 
convert  your  capital,  by  exchange,  into  funds  acceptable  to 
ship-owners,  and  paying  the  price.  This  is  the  law  of  trade. 
A  law  resting  u])on  human  nature  itself,  and  therefore  safe 
to  rely  upon.  True,  you  have  to  peril  somewhat  in  the  en- 
terprise, but  after  you  have  perilled  all,  your  offering  is  less 
than  that  of  your  brother  standing  in  the  front  with  his  life 
upon  the  altar.     Is  it  not? 

In  this  work  you  can  succeed  better  than  your  govern- 
ment can.  Private  parties  can  act  with  more  secrecy,  and 
with  more  dispatch.  They  are  subject  to  less  scrutiny  and 
espionage  than  officers  of  government;  and  the  law  of 
nations  looks  more  leniently  and  favorably  to  enterprises 


10  REMARKS    ON    A  VOLUNTEER    NAVY. 

thej  maj  set  afoot.  Where  is  there  any  law  of  nations 
against  a  man  pnrchasing  and  owning  a  ship,  and  sailing 
her  upon  the  high  seas  ?  Subject  to  the  liability  to  capture 
by  the  armed  ships  of  the  enemy  above  referred  to,  the  right 
is  universally  recognized  as  perfect.  The  question,  then,  as 
to  merchant  vessels  is  settled.  But  suppose  that  by  the 
cflorts  of  the  enemy  to  capture  such  a  ship,  wliile  you  are 
engaged  in  commerce  with  it,  you  ascertain  that  she  can 
elude  and  escape  their  grasp — that  she  is  the  right  build  for 
the  service,  and  conclude,  rtnder  the  act  of  "Congress,  to' 
equip  her  and  set  her  alioat  as  a  privateer — what  provision 
is  there  in  the  law  of  nations  to  prevent  you  purchasing  the 
necessary  armament  in  "neutral  countries  ?     There  is  none. 

Let  us  briefly  review  together  the  law  as  it  stands,  both 
as  to  obtaining  the  ships  and  to  equipping  them.  The  na- 
tions of  Europe  have  confided  to  France  and  England  to 
dispose  of  the  American  question.  Owing  to  this  fact,  and 
to  the  peculiar  status  of  the  United  States'to  us,  I  shall  quote, 
as  before,  from  tbe  publicists  and  precedents  of  these  coun- 
tries, in  preference  to  those  of  other  nations. 

I  yield  that  the  international  law  is  settled  against  the 
purchase,  or  construction  and  equipment  of  men-of-war  or 
privateers  upon  neutral  territory.  Efforts  liave  been  made 
to  cast  censure  upon  the  administration  for  the  failure  of 
their  recent  experiment  in  the  Mersey.  Why,  it  has  been 
asked,  did  not  the  government  build  these  ships  on  the  coast 
of  France;  France  has  no  foreign  enlistment  act?  The 
foreign  enlistment  act  of  England  is  not  the  cause  of  our 
failure  there.  The  law  of  nations  was  settled  before  that 
act  was  passed;  and  the  elfort  of  the  government  in  Eng- 
lish waters  was  a  bold  experiment,  which  might  as  w^ell  have 
failed  in  the  waters  of  France  as  at  tlie  Liverpool  docks. 

In  1793  the  Little  Sarah,  an  English  merchantman,  had 
been  captured  by  a  French  frigate,  and  was  brought  into 
the  port  of  Philadelphia,  where  slie  was  equipped  as  a  pri- 
vateer and  was  about  to  sail  under  the  narne  of  Le  Petit 
Democrat.  She  was  detained  by  the  authorities.  About 
the  same  time  the  Jane,  an  English  armed  merchantman, 
augmented  her  armament  in  the  same  port.  Slie  was  de- 
tained, and  compelled  to  be  restored  to  precisely  the  same 
situation  in  which  she  entered  the  port,  before  she  was 
allowed  to  depart.  M.  Genet,  the  Minister  of  France,  also 
(?t)miiaJ3sioned  privateers  to  sail  from  the  port  of  Charleston, 
and  M.  Duplainc,  the  Consul  of  France  in  Boston,  asserted 
the  right  there  to  dispose  of  prizes.  These  acts  were  pro- 
tested against  as  violating  the  sovereignty  and  neutrality  of 


REMARKS   ON    A -VOLUNTEER   NAVY.  11 

the  country,  and  being  persisted  in,  resulted  in  the  with- 
drawal of  the  e.-^cquatur  of  Duplaine  and  dismissal  of  Genet. 
This  course  of  the  United  States  was  submitted  to  and  ac- 
quiesced in  by  France  and  England  as  being  sustained  by 
the  law  of  nations.  Pending  these  circumstances,  General 
Washington  called  a  meeting  of  his  cabinet.  Chief  Justice 
Marshall  tells  us  that  Mr.  Uamilton,  then  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  and  General  Knox,  the  Secretary  of  War,  urged 
"that  a  neutral  permitting  itself  to  be  made  an  instrument 
of  hostility  by  one  belligerent  against  another,  becomes 
thereby  an  associate  in  the  war."  '"  If  land  or  naval  arma- 
ments," said  they,  "  might  be  formed  by  France  within  the 
United  States,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  war  against 
lier  enemy,  and  might  return  with  the  spoils  taken  and  pre- 
pare new  enterprises,  it  was  apparent  a  state  of  war  would 
exist  between  America  and  those  enemies  of  the  worst  kind 
for  them."  After  much  deliberation  the  cabinet  agreed 
upon  a  declaration  which  was  promulgated  to  the  powers  at 
war,  and  by  them  acquiesced  in,  though  complained  of  as 
hard  by  France :  "  1st.  The  original  arming  and  equipping 
of  vessels  in  the  ports  of  the  Lnited  States,  by  any  of  the 
belligerent  parties  for  military  service,  offensive  or  defen- 
sive, is  deemed  unlawful.  2d.  The  equipment  of  merchant 
vessels,  purely  for  the  accommodation  of  either  belligerent 
party,  as  such,  is  deemed  lawful.  3d,  4th  and  5th.  Equip- 
ments of  any  vessel,  of  either  of  the  belligerents,  which  are 
-doubtful  in  their  nature,  as  being  applicable  to  commerce  or 
war,  are  deemed  lawful.  6th.  Equipments  of  privateers  in 
any  of  the  ports  of  the  TTnited  States,  are  deemed  unlaw- 
ful." This  exposition  w^as  then  assented  to  as  a  true  decla- 
ration of  the  law  of  nations.  It  has  been  acted  on  since 
that  day  to  the  present  time,  with  only  occasional  and  tem- 
porary violations  in  the  case  of  very  weak  sovereignties.  It 
is  now  the  accepted  rule.  Therefore  it  did  not  require  4:he 
force  of  the  foreign  enlistment  act  of  England  to  constitute 
the  construction,  arming  and  equipment  of  ships  of  war  for 
the  Confederate  government,  in  English  waters,  unlawful. 
This  act  is  an  affirmance  of  the  law  of  nations,  which  leaves 
each  State  to  judge  for  itself  the  mode  of  preserving  neu- 
trality, and  to  judge  what  steps  it  may  take  to  preserve  and 
vindicate  its  own  sovereignty.  But  this  exposition  declares 
that  it  is  lawful  to  obtain  and  equip  m.erchant  vessels  for 
belligerents  on  neutral  territory,  and  the  rule  is  equally  as 
cogent  in  one  of  its  ])rovisions  as  in  the  other,  and  is  tlierc?- 
fore  affirmatory  of  the  universally  recognized  principle  above 
stated,  that  a  man  may  buy  his  merchant  ship,  and  sail  her 


12  EEMARK8   ON    A  VOLUNTEER   NAVY. 

on  the  liigli  seas,  without  violating  neutrality,  and  only  sub- 
ject to  seizure  by  the  enemy. 

Now,  I  say,  tliat  once  in  possession  of  the  sliip  for  com- 
mercial purposes,  you  can  use  her  at  your  option  for  purpo- 
ses of  carrying  goods  or  for  those  of  war,  and  should  you 
decide  to  use  her  for  Avarlike  purposes,  you  can,  without 
violation  of  the  law  of  nations,  obtain  the  needful  arma- 
ment from  neutral  j)orts.  All  you  have  to  do  is  to  risk  cap- 
ture by  the  enemy  and  pay  the  price.  In  February,  18G2, 
the  O'Donoghue  moved  in  Parliament  that  the  government 
ought  to  enforce  the  Queen's  proclamation  against  furnishing 
the  belligerents  with  articles  contraband  of  war.  Keplying 
for  the  government  Sir  Roundell  Palmer  said :  ''  The  only 
law  which  enables  her  Majesty's  government  to  interfere  in 
such  cases,  is  that  commonly  called  the  foreign  enlistment 
act,  and  the  whole  nature  and  scope  of  that  act  is  sufficiently 
and  shortly  set  out  in  the  title.  It  is  '  An  act  to  prevent 
the  enlistment  and  engagement  of  her  Majesty's  subjects  to 
serve  in  foreign  service,  and  the  fitting  out  and  equiping  in 
her  Majesty's  dominiojis,  vessels  for  warlike  purposes,  with- 
out her  Majesty's  license.'  The  act  does  not  touch,  in  any 
way,  private  merchant  vessels,  which  may  carry  cargoes, 
contraband  or  not  contraband,  between  this  country  or  any 
of  the  dominions  of  her  Majesty,  and  any  port  in  a  belliger- 
ent country,  whether  blockaded  or  not ;  and  the  government 
of  this  country,  and  the  government  of  our  colonial  posses- 
sions, have  no  power  whatever  to  interfere  with  private 
vessels  under  such  circumstances."  He  proceeds  to  argue 
that  the  persons  carrying  contrabands  of  war  are,  by  the 
law  of  nations,  liable  to  have  the  objectionable  articles  of 
their  cargo  seized  by  tliC  belligerents  against  whom  it  is  pro- 
posed to  use  them,  and  that  this  is  the  only  liability.  The 
noble  Lord  quotes  American  authority  :  ''  Wheaton,  says  he, 
who  as  everybody  knows,  has  writien  one  of  the  most  valu- 
able treatises  upon  the  subject  that  ever  was  composed,  says: 
■•  It  is  not  the  practice  of  nations  to  undertake  to  prohibit 
their  own  subjects,  by  previous  laws,  from  trafficking  in 
articles  contraband  of  war.  Such  trade  is  cari'ied  on  at  the 
risk  of  those  engaged  in  it,  under  the  liabilities  and  penal- 
ties of  the  law  of  nations  or  particular  treaties.'  Wheaton 
then  goes  on  to  justify  the  conduct  of  the  United  States  in 
not  interfering  to  prevent  the  supi)ly  of  arms  to  Texas,  then 
at  war  with  Mexico,  and  says:  'The  government  is  not 
bound  to  prevent  it,  and  could  not  have  prevented  it  with- 
out a  manifest  departure  from  the  principles  of  neutrality, 
and  is  in  no  way  answerable  for  the  consequences.' "     He 


REMARKS   ON    A  VOLUNTEER    NAVT.  13 

proceeds  to  vindicate  the  course  of  England  and  of  the  au- 
thorities at  Nassau,  in  permitting  articles  contraband  of  war 
to  be  exported,  and  closes  with  the  declaration  "  that  their 
conduct  is  consistent  with  the  law  of  the  land,  and  with  the 
recognized  principles  and  customs  of  international  la  v,  and 
more  especially  with  those  principles  as  recognized  and  act- 
ed upon  by  the  United  States  themselves.'' 

If  then  it  l>e  practicable  and  legitimate  for  you  to  get  the 
necessary  armaments  and  equipments,  in  case  you  desire  to 
arm  them,  why  stand  ye  here  all  the  day  idle  ?  Would  that 
I  could  obtain  the  ear  of  every  man  of  capital  and  of  enter- 
prise in  .the  country,  I  would  not  address  liim  as  is  the  cus- 
tom of  too  many,  in  terms  of  bitterness  or  reproach,  deem- 
ing him  a  culprit  because  it  has  been  his  fortune  to  amass 
money  and  means  whilst  his  country  was  in  labor,  and  his 
countrymen  engaged  in  making  sacrifice  after  sacrifice,  but 
I  would  approach  him  as  a  brother,  and  appeal  to  him  as  a 
patriot.  1  would  carefully  and  patiently  consider  with  him 
the  ways  and  means  of  succeeding  in  the  organization  of  a 
Navy — the  great  benefit  a  Navy  would  be  to  us  in  vindicat- 
ing our  independence — and  the  indispensable  necessity  of  a 
Navy  to  our  social  independence,  after  we  shall  have  achiev- 
ed an  honorable  peace.  I  feel  a  faithful  convictioivthat  the 
capitalists  of  the  country  will  yet  show  that  they  are  not 
properly  sul  ject  to  the  reflections  that  we  so  often  hear  upon 
their  devotion  to  the  cause.  Here  is  the  opportunity  for 
their  vindication.  I  fervently  hope  they  will  enter  upon  it, 
and  let  deeds  speak  for  them.  Could  I  but  have  the  ear  of 
the  Government,  I  would  not  say  wake  up  you  that  slum- 
ber. 1  would  not  reproach  the  Administration  that  tho 
suggestion  made  by  the  Vice-President,  early  in  the  war, 
was  not  promptly  acted  upon.  Errors  have  been  committed 
in  all  ages  by  the  best  of  men ;  and  reproaches  are  not  need- 
ed to  correct  them,  when  men  have  tried  and  are  trying  to 
do  their  best.  I  would  urgtj  upon  the  Government  the  pro- 
priety of  taking  every  step,  and  using  every  agency  to  pop- 
ularize this  movement.  If  this  is  not  the  people's  revolu- 
tion, it  is  nobody's,  and  will  come  to  naught,  and  in  this 
matter,  emphatically,  the  Government  must  work  through 
the  people.  To  one  and  to  all — to  the  Confederate  Govern- 
ment, to  the  State  Governments,  to  the  people  throughout 
the  Confederacy,  I  would  say  this  is  our  work.  Duty  does 
not  call  to  crimination  and  recrimination,  nor  to  puerile 
complaints.  Let  each  and  every  agency  therefore,  official 
and  individual,  do  all  that  possibly  can  be  done,  trusting  in 
the  God  of  liberty  for  ultimate  success. 


14  REMARKS    ON    A  VOLUNTEER    NAVY. 

Writing  as  I  do,  purely  for  the  success  of  our  cause,  and 
1^16  good  of  our  common  country,  I  do  not  see  proper  to  di- 
vulge -who  I  am.  Patriots  will  take  the  suggestions  con- 
tained in  these  pages  and  reflect  upon  them ;  and  I  hope 
soon  to  see,  throughout  the  land,  a  full  and  thorough  awaken- 
ing to  the  important  subject  presented,  resulting  in  practi- 
cal ACiiON,  All  that  may  he  said  without  action,  is  worth- 
less. Feeling  assured  of  this,  I  have  already,  in  connection 
with  others,  "entered  upoTi  the  field  to  which  I  invite  the- 
reader.  I  will  not  say  how,  when  or  where  I  and  my  im- 
mediate associates  propose  to  operate,  for  reticence  on  these 
points  is  an  element  of  success.  One  thing  however,  I  will 
pledge  that,  so  far  as  my  humble  capacities  and  means  will 
allow,  I  will  try  to  do  as  much  as  he,  amongst  you,  who- 
does  most.  Hoping  that  like  emulation  will  inspire  every 
•  trne  Confederate  bosom,  I  subscribe  mvself 

^  A  GEOFvGIAN. 


A^  A©T  TO  ESTABLISH  A  VOLUNTEER  NAVY. 


T/w  Congress  of  ihe  Confederate  States  of  America 
enact,  That  the  President  of  the  Confederate  States  is  he 


do 
Here- 
by authorized  to  receive  into  the  service  of  the  Government 
private  armed  vessels,  to  be  organized  iiito  a  volunteer  Navy, 
and  to  appoint  and  commission  officers  for  the  same,  wdio 
♦shall  serve  during  the  war,  unless  sooner  discharged,  under 
rules  and  regulations  hereinafter  prescribed,  and  such  as 
may  hereafter  be  established:  l^rovided,  hcnmver.  That  no 
vessel  of  less  capacity  than  one  hundred  tons  shall  be  re- 
ceived into  said  volunteer  service. 

Sec.  2.  Any  person  or  persons  applying  for  service  under 
this  act,  shall  arm,  man,  provide  and  furnish  the  vessel  or 
vessels  to  be  used 'at  his  or  their  own  expense,  and  shall  fur- 
nish in  writing  to  llie  Secretary  of  the  Navy  the  name,  ar- 
mament and  character  of  such  vessel  or  vessels,  and  the 
names  of  the  persons  to  be  commissioned  and  warranted  as 
officers,  with  the  evidence  of  their  character  and  fitness  for 
the  service;  and,  if  in  the  judgment  of  the  President,  the 
vvessel  or  vessels  shall  be  tit  for'the  service,  and  the  parties 
named  as  the  officers,  be  worthy  to  command,  the  President 
shall  be  authorized  to  receive  sucJi  vessel  or  vessels  into  the 
volunteer  Navy  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America,  and 


REMARKS    OJSI    A  VOLUKTKER   NAVY.  15 

to  commission  the  officers  for  the  same  to  serve  durincr  the 
war,  unless  sooner  ditdiarged.  ^ 

SEa  8.  The  grades^!- commissioned  officers  of  the  volun- 
teer Navy,  shall  be  as  tblloM-s  :  commander,  iirst  lieutenant, 
•second  lieutenant,  assistant  surgeon,  and  first  and  second 
assistant  engineers.  And  the  President  may  direct  the  Sec- 
retary of  tlic  Is'avj  to  issue  warrants  tu  sucii  masters,  boat- 
swams,  gunners,  carpenters,  and  sailmakers,  as  he  may  deem 
necessary  for  sucli  service,  and  the  pay  of  the  officers  and 
crew  shall  be  as  follows  :  For  a  commamler,  twentv-five  dol- 
lars per  irunth;  for  a  first  Jioutenant,  twenty  dollars  per 
month  ;  for  a  s-cond  lieutenant,  fifteen  dollars  per  month  • 
lor  an  assistant  surgeon,  fifteen  dollars  per  month ;  for  ai[ 
assistant  engmccr,  fifteen  dollars  per  month;  for  a  second 
assistant  engineer,  ten  dollars  }ier  month  ;  for  warrant  offi- 
cers, ten  dollars  per  nionth  ;  for  seamen,  five  dollars  per 

month  ;  but  such  pay  shall  be  given  only  for  sea  service. 

And  the  President  may  prcscrrbe  a  uniform  for  the  officers 
and  seanien  ;  and  when  any  vessel  or  vessels  shall  be  pre- 
pared for  service  and  received  under  the  provisions  of  this 
act,  it  or  they  shall  be  under  the  control  and  direction  of 
the  President ;  and  subject  to  all  the  laws,  rules  and  regula- 
tions of  the  regular  Navy  of  the  Confederate  States,  except 
ae  otherwise  provided  for  in  this  act.  It  shall  be  the  duty 
of  the  commander  of  every  such  vessel  to  transmit  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  as  early  as  practicable  after  the  or- 
ganization of  his  crew,  a  descriptive  list  thereof,  together 
with  a  dup.licate  of  their  shipping  articles  or  enlistment 
rolls,  and  of  the  contract  between  owners,  oflicers,  and 
crew,  for  the  division  of  prize  mdhey. 

Sec.  4.  Tliat  the  vessels  of  the  volunteer  Navy  are  author- 
ized to  seize,  capture  and  destroy  upon  the  sea,  or  within 
the  ebb  and  fiow  of  the  tide,  all  vessels  and  property  of  the 
United  States,  and  of  the  citizens  thereof;  and  ninety  per, 
cent,  of  the  value  of  all  such  captures,  less  the  costs  and 
expenses  of  adjudication,  shall  be  forfeited  and  accrue  to 
the  benefit  of  the  owners,  officers  and  crews  of  the  vessels 
niaking  such  captures;  and  all  vessels  and  property  captur- 
ed as  aforesaid,,  shall  be  proceeded  against  and  adjudicated, 
as  m^  other  cases  of  prizes,  under  the  laws  of  the  Confeder- 
ate, States,  which  are  hereby  extended  over  the  same  ;  and 
the  proceeds  accruing  from  such  condemnations  shall  be  dis- 
tributed under  orders  of  the  court  having  jurisdiction  ther 
of,  according  to  the  written  agreement  between  the  pa-'^® 
entitled  to  the  same  ;  but  if  tKere  be  no  such  written  ^^^^' 
ment,  then  one-half  to  the  owners  of  the  vessel.  "°^  ^^^ 


16  REMAKK9    OX   A  VOLtrNl'KER   NAVY. 

other  half  to  the  officers  and  crews,  according  to  the  rules 
prescribed  for  the  distribution  of  prize  money  in  the  regu- 
lar iS'avy. 

Sec.  5.  All  vessels,  goods  ^nd  eftectt^,  the  property  of  any 
citizen  of  the  Confederate  States,  or  any  persons  resident  in 
and  nnder  the  protection  of  the  Confederate  States,  or  of 
the  persons  permanently  within  the  territories,  and  nnder 
the  protection  of  any  foreign  prince,  Government  or  State 
in  amity  witli  the  Confederate  States,  which  shall  have  been 
captured  by  the  forces  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
and  recaptured  by  vessels  commissioned  under  this  act, 
shall  be  restored  to  the  lawful  owners,  npon  payment  by 
them  of  a  just  and  reasonable  salvage,  to  be  determined  )\v 
the  agreement  of  th6  parties  mntually  concerned,  or  by 
the  decree  of  any  court  having  competent  jurisdiction. 
And  such  salvage  shall  be  distributed  am^ongst  the  owners, 
officers  and  crews  of  the  vessels  making  such  captures, 
according  to  the  manner  and  upon  the  principles  heretofore 
provided  for  in  cases  of  capture  and  prize. 

Sec.  6.  The  owners,  officers  and  crews  of  vessels  com- 
missioned nnder  this  act,  shall  be  entitled  to  receive  from 
the  treasury  of  the  Confederate  States  twenty-live  per  cent. 
of  the  value  of  every  armed  vessel,  or  military  or  naval 
transport,  in  tlio  service  of  the  United  States,  which  they 
may  burn,  sink  or  destroy;  and  the  sum  of  twenty-iivo 
dollars  for  every  prisoner  captured  on  board  sucli  vessel  or 
transport  and  brought  into  the  Confederate  States.  And 
the  Secretary  of  the  N'avy  is  hereby  autliorized  to  distrib- 
ute the  compensation  accruing  under  this  section  in  the 
same  manner  and  on  the  same  principles  as  are  hereinbe- 
fore provided  in  case  of  prize  and  capture.  All  questions 
of  relative  or  assimilated  rank  between  the  regular  and 
volunteer  Navy,  shall  be  decided  l>y  the  President. 

Sec.  Y.  The  remaining  ten  per  cent,  of  all  prize  and  com- 
pensation money,  accruing  under  this  act,  shall  be  paid 
into  the  Treasury  of  the  Confederate  States,  to  be  held  by 
the  government  as  a  fund  for  the  maintenance  of  such  per- 
sons as  may  be  wounded,  and  of  the  widows  and  orphans 
of  those  slain  while  engaged  in  such  service,  to  be  assigned 
and  distributQd  as  shall  hereafter  be  provided  for  bv  law. 

Approved  April  18,  1863. 


pH8^ 


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